Supriya Rao Patwardhan is executive vice president at DHL, one of the world’s most recognisable logistics companies offering express delivery, freight transport, e-commerce solutions and other supply chain solutions.
Leading a team of 5,800 information technology (IT) professionals from 87 different countries, her team provides the technology behind the company’s speed and reliability.
It wasn’t an easy road to get there. Born in India, Patwardhan experienced the motherhood penalty, struggled with childcare support, overcame racism and discrimination when first starting her career in Singapore, and weathered a major company setback and massive layoffs at DHL in the noughties.
A grandmother today, the first-generation Singaporean, who became a citizen 24 years ago, tells CNA Women about the numerous glass ceilings she has had to break, and shares her best career and leadership insights for career women and mothers.
1. TO NURTURE MORE WOMEN LEADERS, WE FIRST NEED TO SUPPORT MOTHERS
Women make up less than one-third of senior leaders, according to a 2024 World Economic Forum report. Patwardhan believes that one big reason for this is because many drop out of the workforce after becoming mothers, especially if they do not have adequate support.
As a young mother based in New Delhi, India, in 1989, Patwardhan remembers hitting her first career roadblock because she could not find childcare. Then an IT consultant, she settled for part-time work.
“It was the hardest thing because the career I had built up pretty much went down the drain. And I could see all my peers moving ahead,” she recalled.
Three decades later, Patwardhan’s daughter, her only child, faced a similar struggle after giving birth to her firstborn in 2020. This was during the pandemic and London, where her daughter is based, was in lockdown.